Written in the Stars
by Sorrow has a Human Heart
Summary: On her 12th birthday, Yuna has her fortune read. Both T x Y and Yunalai implications, with favor to Yunalai.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: First off, as per usual, I own nothing but the silly scenario. Secondly, I would like to dedicate this ficlet to Danko Kaji. Hope you enjoy!**

**Can't really say what I think of it quality-wise, but it may turn into a two-shot. We'll see.**

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"Tell me child, how old are you today" An elderly stranger bent down to Yuna's level in unassuming inquiry.

"Twelve…" A very shy Yuna replied, clinging to her new moomba plushie.

It was Yuna's birthday, and all the children in Besaid were gathered at the temple for the celebration. Several adults were also in attendance, not just to watch their young, but to bear witness to the temple's tradition for the joyous occasion. For all youth in the temple's care, it was customary to have a complete psychic-astrological reading when they turned twelve.

"Is that right? Well then, shall we see what the future holds for you, my dear?" The kindly old nun took Yuna by the hand, and gently led her away from the jovial crowd. "You four may join us." She invited teen-aged Lulu, Wakka, and Chappu, and her caretaker, Kimahri.

Quietly, the six assembled together in one of the chambers off of the main sanctuary. On the table in the center, a large map of the stars was already spread out, covered in colorful notations of Yevonic script. An array of brightly colored candles provided the only light for the room, feeding into the tense, mystical atmosphere. The old woman still held Yuna's hand, her light blue eyes holding the semi-frightened gaze of the child's heterochromic ones.

"Let us begin. Yuna, what would you like to know?" Despite the serious undercurrent, the matronly woman allowed the children to believe that this was just a special game for the party.

"Umm…will I have lots of babies?" She blurted out, unsure of what she was supposed to ask, weary of all the eyes focused upon her.

Chappu and Wakka groaned impatiently at such a girly question, while Lulu cooed in adoration of her growing younger "sister", and Kimhari grinned a rare, toothy smile.

"Ah, such an important question!" She praised Yuna, "Are you sure you are only twelve, little one?"

"Mmm-hmm. I don't like to lie. Yevon says it's very wrong." Yuna reminded her.

The nun smiled in approval. Such devotion in one so young was a wondrous blessing. The Besaid temple had not failed its children in the least. Certainly not this one, at any rate.

"Very well, then. Let us see how many children the stars speak of. Precious Yuna, you are of the Cancer sign…" She placed a sharp fingernail on a starting point on the map, the moon, and slowly traced a path along the glyphs.

All four children crowded in around the table to see what the old lady was doing, and to make their own attempts to decipher the complex, mysterious drawing.

"I bet she's gonna have a whole litter, ya? She already acts like a little doggy." Chappu teased after what he felt were too many moments of reverent silence.

"You shut your mouth!" Wakka snapped back, just as Lulu smacked him upside the head.

"Yuna is _not_ a dog!" The older girl insisted.

From the corner where he sat, Kimahri emitted a low growl that made all three rethink their monkey business. Yuna looked around her, a little confused, but entertained all the same. The elderly nun nodded her thanks to the Ronso and continued tracing the path, until her pointer located the spot it was searching for.

"It seems….you have quite a fertile future, Yuna. At least three babies for you. Possibly four, be we shan't press our luck with fate. Now, perhaps we shall see about the lucky man, yes?"

Yuna smiled timidly, but shook her head eagerly. What pre-teen girl didn't want to know all about her love life?

The woman reset her finger to its starting point, and reclaimed Yuna's hand. Suddenly, as though through an uncontrolled impulse, she set down a second finger.

"How unusual. It seems that the stars will grant you with two loves…." Once again, she began tracing an unknown path. "Your first, a mighty Leo. He will be a force most powerful, and lead you onto a path never before tread, and depart in bittersweet regret. Sadly, he is not to be the father of your children. Remember my words today, child, and take what comfort you can: Without loss, there will be no gain. Do you understand?" As she spoke, the words seemed to echo, despite the fact that the room was too full for that to be possible.

"I don't know…" Yuna replied, feeling slightly terrified, very unsure.

Mysteriously, the flames on each of the candles dimmed down, and then burned to twice the brightness they had been. A flurry of pyreflies appeared, and danced and swirled around the map. Seeing the sudden brightness from the beneath the chamber door, the temple's High Priest quietly joined the small group, curious of what was evoking such a play of untamed power. He winked at the nun, signaling that she should continue as she was.

Kimhari had no further need to keep the teens from becoming unruly. The magical current held their attention enthralled in its supernatural flow just as much as his.

"Don't be afraid, Yuna. We are all familiar with grief. It is no mystery that you should experience it. Love and loss—they are comrades. But for you, child, such loss is the path to your true mate." The old woman's now- single pointer had stopped, quite decisively, on the small circle named Mercury. "The man you shall wed is a son of Yevon, by spirit if not by birth. Dark skin and doe-eyed, he rests under the sign of Virgo, with grace, dignity, and power in his hands. Do not be fooled or disheartened if he opposes you at first, for such is often the way of love."

Wakka and Chappu simply gawked at each other dumbfounded, while Lulu quietly wept, moved by Yuna's fortune. If only she could be a dutiful sister, and remember this day, so that when these things came to be, she could remind Yuna of the happy ending that awaited her. She swore to herself that she would at least try.

"What of little Yuna's place in Spira?" the High Priest inquired nonchalantly. After all, that was the true purpose of this reading.

The pyreflies swirling around the table quickly coagulated into a floating, ethereal sphere above the celestial map. Small, pinpointed lights ejected from it, plotting themselves upon the stars. Mystified, the nun carefully ran her finger along the illuminated points, and finally regarded all in the chamber.

"I cannot comprehend it for the absolute certainty of her maternity and long lifespan, but this child is chosen of Yevon for the sacred art. I foresee that she shall deliver Spira into the longest Calm it has ever known, should she choose the summoner's path."

"I can…save Spira?" For only the second time, Yuna's eyes brightened with mesmerized wonder.

"Summoner? No, Yuna, you can't! You know what happens to summoners when they get to Zanarkand, ya?" Wakka protested.

"Listen to Wakka, Yuna. At least think this over before you decide." Lulu cautioned, but not without a growing lump in her throat.

Chappu simply scratched his head in befuddlement. Who knew that such a frilly, gossip-laden fortune could turn so awesome? Then again, what was Yuna supposed to do, and what should he think of all this? Somehow, it seemed just as dreadful as it was cool.

As the children busied themselves with bickering, Kimhari embraced the confused girl.

"Kimahri choose whatever Yuna choose. If Yuna summoner, Kimahri guardian. Now, Yuna still has chocolate cake. Forget big decision today."

No one could argue with that. The pyreflies dispersed as though they had never appeared, and the chamber's lighting returned to its normal warm glow. Eagerly, everyone but the nun and the priest ran back outside, not wanting to miss out their share of Yuna's birthday cake and swimming at the beach.

At the end of a long, playful day, Yuna stared pensively out at the ocean sunset with Kimahri and Lulu by her side.

"I wonder what his name is?" She mumbled, curling her toes into the sand, daring her much-too-young heart to fall for someone she had never met.

"You won't know until you meet him. Those nuns can't tell you everything." Lulu responded, although she knew that she wasn't necessarily being asked.

"Hmm. I wish they could, but…." Yuna sighed, "I think I'm going to do it."

Kimhari looked down knowingly at his small companion, concern evident in his feral Ronso eyes.

"Can't you think about it just a little more, Yuna? It's a big step." Lulu asked.

"I promised father that I would follow my heart." She affirmed, " I want to be like him."

"Yuna do what Yuna must do." Kimahri reassured them, and himself.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: And here's Baralai's part. Hope you like!**

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Books lay strewn across the newly-consecrated thirteen year-old acolyte's bedroom floor, surrounding the foreign, unintelligible map he carefully unfurled before him. Across the desk in the corner, and on the window sill, brightly burning candles were arranged in preparation for the reading. Down the hall, his parents slept, blissfully ignorant of his designs. He had made them proud today, joining the Yevon priesthood as its youngest member. Ever the responsible one, they had no reason to suspect he would become bored enough to find a reason to light enough candles to burn down the house in seconds.

Baralai had borne witness to this ritual many times, this reading of the stars to find out who would offer the best of themselves to Yevon. Unwilling to be made the center of attention, and a little fearful of what might be revealed, he had endeavored to do it for himself, although he was uncertain that he possessed the psychic capacity. Some of the most gifted nuns could tell people about their entire lives, and maybe the ones that preceded it, by a simple touch of the hand.

Kneeling down before the celestial chart, he offered a brief prayer to Yevon, and a vow that he would not misuse anything he learned. When he opened his eyes, he was met with the ghostly gaze of another staring back at him, one emerald eye, and one ultramarine. He would have fallen over, would have cried out his surprise, but the unknown presence held him paralyzed.

"_I wonder what his name is?" _A whispered, almost child-like voice, breezed through his ears and mind.

Calm. Baralai felt safe, despite his momentary captivity to the spiritual. The presence was gentle, hypnotizing, lulling him into a dream-like state. Where the vision had been, a cluster of pyreflies had formed, banding together on the map to outline the twelve constellations of the zodiac. Drowsily, he traced the outline of the wheel, stopping at the feminine silhouette of Virgo, his sign. Slight pressure against the back of his hand guided his finger along an unmarked trail, and held it fast when it reached its destination.

Cold sweat dripped down his temples when a phantom pain shot through his back, and he was confronted with a blurred image of the Farplane. His pulse quickened at the sight of his own hands—_no, not his_—pounding away at the controls of a sacrilegious machina, hidden behind a shell of his own making. Why would he even think to touch such an unholy object?

Just when he felt that the anxiety would consume him, the second vision gave way to reality, and the serene, comforting essence of the presence that had greeted him to start returned. Baralai could hardly believe that some of the clergy did this for a living. How could they survive the stress?

Still, he felt his hand being gently pushed along the map to a new location, thus Baralai braced himself for whatever would come next. It stopped on the moon, the ruling body over Cancer, and he could suddenly hear the sound of rushing water. A blast of salty, humid air gusted in from the ocean that materialized before him, while the floor of his room disintegrated into billions of sand grains. Pale moonlight bathed the beach, making it sparkle as though mixed with countless tiny crystals.

In the distance, a cloaked form approached. Heavily pleated robes, long silvery blue hair separated along the sides of his face, and the tell-tale staff. There was no mistaking it: Somehow, Baralai was standing before the High Summoner.

"An honor, Lord Braska." He managed to choke out, bowing deeply in Yevon.

Braska laughed softly, and pulled Baralai to his feet.

"So, you're the one. Can't say that I disapprove." The High Summoner commented cryptically.

"My lord?"

"Baralai, one day you will meet someone very precious to me. She's strong, but she doesn't do well alone….neither do you, as much as you would believe otherwise. Take care of her for me.." Braska turned, and walked away, leaving Baralai to ponder the vague request.

"Sir, may I know her name?" Baralai called out, but the High Summoner had already dispersed.

A sharp glint of sunlight broke through Baralai's closed eyes, forcing him to rise from the floor he had slept on. A small, slimy wet spot coated the chart, where he had apparently passed out. The candles on his desk and the window sill were still burning, but mostly melted down. Long, waxen stalactites clung to the wall where it had dripped. At least the house was still standing.

For now, Baralai decided it was best to take his mind off the future, and start planning on how to preserve it. If his parents walked in on this mess, they would probably kill him.


End file.
